Becca’s Hype: Instagram Announce IGTV!

Over the last week there have been some huge developments in social media, including the announcement of IGTV, a new video service from Instagram, and a new Facebook tool to measure how long you’re spending on the platform.

Over the last week, there have been some huge developments in social media, including the announcement of IGTV, a new video service from Instagram, and a new Facebook tool to measure how long you’re spending on the platform.

IGTV

Instagram has launched IGTV, a new video hub app featuring longer, vertical videos to appeal to younger audiences, who are spending less time watching TV, more time watching amateur content creators.

How does it work?

The three stand out features of IGTV, is that it’s mobile first, simple and intuitive, and curated. There’s no browsing around to find a video, as soon as you open the app you’ll see content from creators you love and follow on Instagram. As well as being able to watch video from IGTV directly through the Instagram app, any user is able to upload videos to the new hub.

Why have Instagram launched this?

Instagram is leading the way forward for vertical video. At the moment we’re all so used to having to rotate our phones, but this is a way to take up maximum screen space and take all of your audience’s attention. The longer length of the videos presents itself as a perfect opportunity for storytelling – a great chance for brands to entice potential customers – and can reach all of Instagram’s 800 million users.

Facebook’s New Brand Collabs Manager Tool

Facebook wants to put more of a focus on helping creators connect, create, and grow. They’re doing this by launching a new Brand Collabs Manager tool which helps to search for influencers and creators on Facebook which could be suitable for partnerships. This is rolling out in the US first but is set to make it easier for influencers to showcase their best content, create custom portfolios, and show brands that they’re actively searching for partnerships.

How long are you spending on Facebook?

Facebook is also currently testing a new tool which measures the amount of time you’re spending on the platform. This would show you how much time you’re spending on the app and would enable you to set targets and be notified when you’ve overpassed that length of time each day.

This is an effort to meet Mark Zuckerberg’s promise of “helping people connect” being more important than “the time they spend on Facebook”. This follows on from research showing that the more time spent consuming information on the platform, the worse they feel afterward.